Continuing with the rotation theme from my last post... When I look at this photo it amazes me how much it changes when it's turned from a vertical to a horizontal (scroll down for a sneak peek). In my previous post, there was not a significant variation in the visual impact of the colored glass in different orientations. The glass just came across as different arrangements of the same shapes. Not so with this spiderweb. The proper orientation is vertical - that's the way the web was hanging off the tall grasses. As I was shooting away, I was composing with a vertical image in mind.

Luckily, a happy accident occurred. When I was reviewing my image on the LCD screen I happened to turn the camera to the horizontal orientation. I was immediately struck by what seemed to be a totally different photo. As a horizontal image the dewdrop covered strands appear less compressed and have a completely different flow. The lines make me think of railroad tracks, complete with railroad ties in between. As I soon as I saw it as a horizontal I knew I would rotate the image as part of my image processing. And just so we're clear, the two photos above are the exact same image file, the only difference is the orientation. Kind of hard to believe since your perception of them is very different. Almost like it's an optical illusion. This is how you can have some fun with photographing just part of a subject. When you're paying more attention to the lines and shapes than what the subject is, try rotating it through all four orientations and see how the image transforms.